Marriott International provided over 15,000 free meals to frontline workers across cities in India amid the tragic Covid second wave. With neatly packed vegetarian meals offered in Marriott Bonvoy on Wheels (MBOW) it truly helped make a difference in the lives of Cvid warriors working selflessly. Now, Marriott International revealed that they shall continue to invest in Indian markets despite Covid losses faced by the tourism and hospitality industries. Let’s find out more, shall we?
Marriott International Continues To Invest In Properties In India Amid Losses
Craig S. Smith, Group President, International, Marriott International said to the Business Line that he sees a lot of potential in the Indian market because of our young population. That is why despite this lockdown, Marriott International considers India as one of its top markets. Let us inform you that Marriott has more than 7,600 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 133 countries and territories. In India alone, they have over 125 hotels under 16 of its brand.
According to the Business Line Craig S. Smith said, “We are continuing to invest in properties in India despite the pandemic. In the future, we will bring our other brands to India as well.” Smith spoke these words while responding to a question from BusinessLine at a virtual event organized by Les Clefs d’Or, a global professional association of hotel concierges. Smith also clarified that he is also utilizing several promising talents from India and utilizing them across the world.
Marriott Hotels In Dubai & China Recovered Amid Pandemic; India To Follow Suit
Looking at the global trend, we see that Marriot has been recovering in countries like Dubai and China. These countries are doing much better than India. Also, Marriot mentioned that the Asia Pacific region has a slow revival. And this trend can be witnessed across Asia Pacific Excluding China, or APEC, and the Caribbean and Latin America, or CALA, where the recovery has been even more uneven. Looking at the conditions of several branded and luxurious hotels across our country, a report from the hospitality industry tracker STR mentions that over 270 branded hotels in India have temporarily closed while at least eight hotels of branded chains have shut down permanently. We hope that with Marriott International continuing to invest in Indian markets, the hotel industry will recover sooner.
